Donivine Stewart leaving Bradley

[Da Coach]

I still do not know that Donivine has officially announced he is transferring to SIU-E, but this appears to be the first media report-

http://chicagohoops.hoops247.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1610:donivine-stewart-to-transfer-to-siu-edwardsville&catid=34:recruiting

[lefty]

Maybe Geno thought he could develope DS and it just did not work out based on his lack of defense!! If you can not guard our guys in practice how can he guard in the Valley!!

or maybe Geno told DS that he might not fit early but DS wanted to try it anyway.....

[lefty]

Sadly it's becoming apparent that DS was held hostage to make it seem like the fall-out was less than it actually was. It's not fair to play games with the lives of college students.

A local high school legend deserves better than this. Best of luck Donivine!!

why because he's a local legend?...it might hurt those that knew DS...it alwasy does when there is a relationship involved....

I don't think it's apparent at all that he was "held hostage"

[BuB]

Saying that a kid "doesn't fit the coach's system" as an explanation for why a guy couldn't earn playing time is nothing more than a politically correct way to say that the kid is simply not good enough to play at this level.

That's the reality here. The 'bad fit for my style/system' is just a nice way to spin it in the media so both parties can move on amicably.

Correct. DS had hundreds of hours on the court against our players to prove he could contribute. Didn't happen. People need to think back and ask what was it that Stewart did well in high school. He could handle the ball, penetrate the lane, and scored lots of points because he shot a lot. This is exactly what we saw Lemon and DSE do all season. Lots of 1 on 1 action and isolation. Based on that, Stewart should have had a future with Geno "system". His weaknesses were way to much to overcome. Too slow, can't play defense, too small, can't create his own shot, and a poor outside shooter. That is why we saw Woods play. Both sides are saying the right things. Can't really say what they feel.

or maybe Geno told DS that he might not fit early but DS wanted to try it anyway.....

I think this is true also. He wanted to give it a shot his first year. Many freshmen don't realize how tough it is their first year. And I bet Geno did not want one of his first moves to be running off the local star player.

[tornado]

or maybe Geno told DS that he might not fit early but DS wanted to try it anyway.....

We can never know all of what was said but here's what's been said to the media...
"Geno Ford's take: "Donivine has been getting better. He's learning the
system and where we're trying to get the ball and to whom. He's playing with
much more confidence, which is encouraging. Donivine was the only freshmen
in the first game who distinguished himself as ready to go."

JS scouting report: Stewart lacks all the attributes Ford loves in his guards -
speed, quickness, athleticism. But he owns intangibles in spades. He knows
the game, provides leadership and heady play, is a great passer, is unselfish
yet can score when needed. Defense is still a foreign concept to him. He
must improve it to see major minutes."

http://www.pjstar.com/bradleyhoops/x916009754/Five-freshmen-give-Bradley-a-new-look?zc_p=1

"I see a great future here for us,??? said 6-foot-7 forward Devon Hodges of
Bolingbrook. ???This group of guys has been battling real good since we got
here."

???I don??™t see anything but great things coming out of this group.???

Wells and Stewart are the two Jim Les recruits of the bunch. Both jumped on
board right away when Geno Ford was named the Braves??™ new coach on March 28.

???I??™m glad to be here and anxious to get started,??? Stewart said."

http://www.pjstar.com/bradleyhoops/x1722637466/A-Chemistry-Class

"Ford adds, ???It??™s an exciting time to be here for coaches and players."

???Our class of recruits, Jalen Crawford, Devon Hodges, Donivine Stewart, Nate
Wells, and Shayok Shayok can be one of the top freshman classes in the
conference,??? notes Ford. ???As a group overall, five freshmen is a big number,
but I think our fans will enjoy seeing kids come in and play and develop over
four years. We felt it was important that we added four-year players ??” kids
who are good students and good people who represent the University well
and also do well in the classroom. They??™re going to have opportunities that,
quite frankly, they wouldn??™t have at a lot of other places.???

http://www.bradley.edu/about/publications/hilltopics/2011summer/ford/

"Ford didn??™t reach the NCAA in his three seasons at Kent.
During the meeting, he laid out his vision for a tough, rugged team that dives
for loose balls, takes charges and attacks on both ends of the court. Ford
said he prefers to play fast and wants to lead the Missouri Valley in scoring
and in field-goal percentage defense. He summed up his philosophy in three
words: confidence, trust and attack.

Another top priority will be to contact the four recruits who have signed with
the Braves, in an attempt to keep them in the fold.

Limestone High School guard Donivine Stewart attended the news
conference and met Ford before the proceedings began. Stewart said he??™s all
in with the new regime.

???I think they made a great hire,??™??™ Stewart said, ???but I never had any doubts.
When I said I wanted to play for my city and play for Bradley, I meant it.??™??™

http://www.pjstar.com/bradleyhoops/x796074168/Current-future-BU-players-like-what-they-see

[sam hannam]

I still do not know that Donivine has officially announced he is transferring to SIU-E, but this appears to be the first media report-
http://chicagohoops.hoops247.com/ind...=34:recruiting

Coach - The headline of this morning's PJStar said that Donivine was going to SIU-E.

[tornado]

The original version of that story did not include that part and since Da Coach long ago cancelled his subscription - and wouldn't have gotten his paper that early anyway - I sure never do - he saw it first on the Chicago site...

[Da Coach]

Coach - The headline of this morning's PJStar said that Donivine was going to SIU-E.

Thanks for the heads-up. I do not get the PJ Star and haven't read it. The headline on the article that's online does not say SIUE, though I see now that the article had been amended to include that detail.

[78Brave]

To be honest I would have thrown DS in more games this year because often Bradley was terrible and he couldn't be much worse. But I said the same about AT and Milos last year and others over the years. Of course then we were supposed to trust the coach who saw them in practice every day. I don't know much about coaching basketball but I do recognize hypocrisy when I see it. Don't like it much.

[real fan]

D.S. is a good kid that is going to be better off going to SIUE, that is a great school and just a little over 2 hour drive , he will be getting to play the sport he loves so it is a win situation for him, better to do this now rather then waste his time sitting on the bench.
He will like his new school and will also like the fact he is 15 minutes from downtown St.Louis .

[lefty]

We can never know all of what was said but here's what's been said to the media...
"Geno Ford's take: "Donivine has been getting better. He's learning the
system and where we're trying to get the ball and to whom. He's playing with
much more confidence, which is encouraging. Donivine was the only freshmen
in the first game who distinguished himself as ready to go."

JS scouting report: Stewart lacks all the attributes Ford loves in his guards -
speed, quickness, athleticism. But he owns intangibles in spades. He knows
the game, provides leadership and heady play, is a great passer, is unselfish
yet can score when needed. Defense is still a foreign concept to him. He
must improve it to see major minutes."

http://www.pjstar.com/bradleyhoops/x916009754/Five-freshmen-give-Bradley-a-new-look?zc_p=1

"I see a great future here for us,??? said 6-foot-7 forward Devon Hodges of
Bolingbrook. ???This group of guys has been battling real good since we got
here."

???I don??™t see anything but great things coming out of this group.???

Wells and Stewart are the two Jim Les recruits of the bunch. Both jumped on
board right away when Geno Ford was named the Braves??™ new coach on March 28.

???I??™m glad to be here and anxious to get started,??? Stewart said."

http://www.pjstar.com/bradleyhoops/x1722637466/A-Chemistry-Class

"Ford adds, ???It??™s an exciting time to be here for coaches and players."

???Our class of recruits, Jalen Crawford, Devon Hodges, Donivine Stewart, Nate
Wells, and Shayok Shayok can be one of the top freshman classes in the
conference,??? notes Ford. ???As a group overall, five freshmen is a big number,
but I think our fans will enjoy seeing kids come in and play and develop over
four years. We felt it was important that we added four-year players ??” kids
who are good students and good people who represent the University well
and also do well in the classroom. They??™re going to have opportunities that,
quite frankly, they wouldn??™t have at a lot of other places.???

http://www.bradley.edu/about/publications/hilltopics/2011summer/ford/

"Ford didn??™t reach the NCAA in his three seasons at Kent.
During the meeting, he laid out his vision for a tough, rugged team that dives
for loose balls, takes charges and attacks on both ends of the court. Ford
said he prefers to play fast and wants to lead the Missouri Valley in scoring
and in field-goal percentage defense. He summed up his philosophy in three
words: confidence, trust and attack.

Another top priority will be to contact the four recruits who have signed with
the Braves, in an attempt to keep them in the fold.

Limestone High School guard Donivine Stewart attended the news
conference and met Ford before the proceedings began. Stewart said he??™s all
in with the new regime.

???I think they made a great hire,??™??™ Stewart said, ???but I never had any doubts.
When I said I wanted to play for my city and play for Bradley, I meant it.??™??™
http://www.pjstar.com/bradleyhoops/x...-what-they-see

You are right. We can never know what all was said.I'm sure it's all not reported in the media....and as is normal, time and circumstances can play a part in all of it.

[Chico]

To be honest I would have thrown DS in more games this year because often Bradley was terrible and he couldn't be much worse. But I said the same about AT and Milos last year and others over the years. Of course then we were supposed to trust the coach who saw them in practice every day. I don't know much about coaching basketball but I do recognize hypocrisy when I see it. Don't like it much.

Stir, stir.

[AZ BU Fan]

Can't wait for some positive personnel news from the Hilltop re MBB

Hopefully this will be the last of the disgruntled BU fan posts this off season

A BF.com poster has to have a dream, doesn't he?

If Milos and Jake are allowed to stay with the program and graduate next year without seeing the floor much in 2012-13, let's agree to call it even vis a vis Hodges and Stewart moving on..

[AE Braves Fan]

This is simple. DS was getting Creaned from day 1. Geno knew if he played Donivine that he would perform better than what was on the floor (how could he not?) and then he couldn't Crean him. If he never played then he's easy to cut loose.

[spoon]

This is simple. DS was getting Creaned from day 1. Geno knew if he played Donivine that he would perform better than what was on the floor (how could he not?) and then he couldn't Crean him. If he never played then he's easy to cut loose.

Yeah, and 9/11 was a hoax.